Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

Buffy the Demon Slayer?

Here’s a very disturbing story. The daughter of deranged lunatic Bob Larson and two of her friends apparently take part in “exorcisms” — aka abusing and berating very disturbed people who need genuine psychological help. And they’re apparently shopping a reality TV show.

While most people their age are studying for exams or getting their first jobs, a trio of girls in Arizona claim they’re helping people all around the country expel their dangerous demons — through exorcisms.

Brynne, Tess and Savannah work under Brynne’s father, Rev. Bob Larson, who claims to have performed thousands of exorcisms over the last 30 years, according to ABC News.

The young women book their clients through Larson, who claims that 50% of the population is probably affected by demons and believes that his protégés are the world’s first line of defense against Satan.

His girls, who have nicknamed different demons that they often see, say they “know how the enemy is.”

“There’s a war going on every day, being waged against us,” Brynne told ABC. “Satan hates us.”

And Larson says he’s fielding offers for reality shows about the girls. Larson would be a bad joke if not for the fact that people take him seriously. And give him money.

My natal xian sect didn’t believe in demons or demonic possession. They also rarely mentioned satan or hell either. Polls show that roughly half of all US xians don’t believe in satan or hell.

Therefore, demons and demonic possession are an alien concept to me.

You might as well put up Hex signs to keep away the vampires or refuse to go out at night because the ghosts might get you. Or chase rainbows to find the pot of gold before the leprechauns get it all. It just comes across as some silly superstition from our primitive past.

In the obvious case, priests and ministers kill the victim while torturing them to drive out the demon.

More common is substituting oogedy boogedy rituals for medical treatment. Some of those who claim to be possessed by demons are mentally ill. And the Demon Theory of Disease is alive and thriving in fundie xianity.

The number who end up dead by this way is a lot. Counting faith healing failures a wild guess would be in the high thousands a year in the USA.

“I have had hundreds of patients who came to see me because they thought they were demon possessed. Scores of them heard “demon voices” telling them evil things to do. It was at first surprising to me that all of these had dopamine deficiencies in their brains, which were readily correctable with Thorazine or any other major tranquilizer. I discovered that all of the “demons” I was seeing were allergic to Thorazine and that, in nearly every case, a week or two on Thorazine made the “demons” go away and brought the patient closer to his real conflicts.

“We’re just normal girls who are doing something extraordinary for God”

Why, because Mr. Omnipotent can’t do it himself? What does God get out of this? If their exorcism really worked, they could claim to be doing something for the victim, but that would still leave questions like ‘why did Mr. Omnibenevolent allow them to become possessed in the first place?’

1. Fundie xians never, ever miss a chance to demonstrate their moral and intellectual bankruptcy. This is a chance for Larson to show what he has and what he is.

2. Fundies waste billions of their dollars by sending them to dubious fakes. Whatever, money wasted on conpeople is money they can’t spend attacking science or electing Dominionists.

And Larson says he’s fielding offers for reality shows about the girls.

I don’t watch fundie TV. But seems to me, there must already be a bunch of exorcisms per day on fundie xian TV shows. What else are they going to do besides ask for money?

And speaking of money, some of these fundie xian conpeople make tens of millions USD per year. Pat Robertson is a billionaire.

“There’s a war going on every day, being waged against us,” Brynne told ABC. “Satan hates us.”

There is a war going on every day against the USA all right. The fundie xians hate everybody and openly hate the US democracy and will destroy it if they can. These days, the main Wars are the GOP War on Women and the perennial War on Gays. We just finished the War on the War on Easter and in a few months it will be time for the War on the War for Xmas.

I have demons. One is fatty food. Now if these chicks could scare half the calories out of my food before I eat it, I’d be eternally grateful. Oh, and while they’re at it, if they could make my cheeseburger have all the roughage and vitamins of a salad, I’d give them an extra five bucks.

“All diseases of Christians are to be ascribed to demons.” St. Augustine. Seems we haven’t come very far since the 5th century. (I’ve always wondered, since he calls out Christians specifically, whose diseases are not ascribed to demons? Animals or unbelievers?)

If they are claiming these levels of demon possession, most of the people don’t need medical help. I’m guessing they’re largely casting out demons of homosexuality, looking at porn weekly and feeling like yelling at the person who holds up the grocery store line.

I know that you didn’t write the story, but shouldn’t it be “protégée” and not “protégé”? I mean, what’s the world coming to when you can’t figure out the correct gender of the noun? The author goes to all the trouble to put in the accents, but forgets the correct gender?

Bob Larson has been on this demon scam for decades. His old radio show had him exorcising demons that phoned in to do “spiritual warfare” with Larson. Between the heavy metal fan pranksters and the staged calls there was plenty of entertaining, hilarious theater, however it appeared there were significant numbers of profoundly mentally ill people that heard and participated in this nonsense, and the thought of the harm this may have done is not that funny.